Orchestra Omaha: Long Ago and Far Away
with Ruth Meints and William Wolcott, violins
First United Methodist Church
69th & Cass
Sunday 3:00 PM | April 20
FREE and open to the public.

Elgar: March of the Mogul Emperors
Butterworth: A Shropshire Lad
Vaughn-Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Holst: Concerto for Two Violins
Holst: Selections from ‘The Planets’

Omaha Symphony’s Pops Series: Three Broadway Divas
Holland Performing Arts Center
Friday, April 18, 2008, at 8 p.m.
Saturday, April 19, 2008, at 8 p.m.
Sunday, April 20, 2008, at 2 p.m.

The Omaha Symphony’s Pops series continues with THREE BROADWAY DIVAS, April 18th through the 20th. Three of Broadway’s best—Debbie Gravitte, Anne Runolfsson and Jan Horvath—light up the stage at the Holland Center. The trio will present songs from your favorite musicals, including GYPSY, A CHORUS LINE, MY FAIR LADY and EVITA. Performances take place at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, April 18th and Saturday, April 19th and at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 20th. All concerts are held in the Holland Center, at 13th and Douglas Streets. Here's what conductor Ernest Richardson had to say about the concert:

"So what’s better than 1 diva appearing with the Omaha Symphoney? How about 3? 3 of Broadway’s best by the way will light up the Peter Kiewet Concert Hall and deliver a show stopping performance when the three Broadway divas take the stage with the Omaha Symphony. Now if you’re a fan of Broadway you won’t want to miss these ladies when they sing these hits from favorite musicals including: Sweet Charity, Gypsy, A Chorus Line (also a great movie), Evita, Jeckyl & Hyde (a truly wonderful contemporary Broadway show, My Fair Lady (actually one of my favorites), and many others. In fact, just the other day I was watching My Fair Lady, the movie, with my kids…its such great songs.

Now here’s a little about the divas. Debbie Gravitte’s varied career has taken her to the Broadway stage to the symphony hall. She won the prestigious Tony Award for best featured actress in the musical Jerome Robin’s Broadway along with the Drama Desk Award nomination and New York Showstopper Award. After making her original Broadway debut in the original cast of Their Playing Our Song, she went on to appear in Perfectly Frank, Blues in the Night, Aint Broadway Grand, Chicago, and Les Miserables. Gravitte has sung with numerous symphony orchestras around the world and she has appeared on television in the CBS series, Trial and Error, and several specials for PBS.

Jan Horvath, is the graduate of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music (where I spent the summer by the way) and was the member of the original cast of the Phantom of the Opera. Her Broadway credits include The Three Peony Opera, Sweet Charity, Stardust, and Oliver. In addition to her Broadway credits, Horvath sang the leading role of Grisibella in the national touring company of Cats. Now, I like the song from Cats, and I’m not crazy about Cats but I don’t mind them. But when you put them on the Broadway stage singing, it’s a little strange to me, but I like the songs and they’re great songs. For the past ten years, Horvath has been soprano soloist with Bravo Broadway and she has appeared as a guest soloist for over a hundred orchestras around the world.

Ann Runolfsson has a appeared as a soloist for Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, The Kennedy Center, and with symphony orchestras around the country. She is currently starring as Carlota in Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Phantom of the Opera. Prior to that, she made a splash in Victor Victoria, as standby to Julie Andrews and Liza Manelli. She then performed the title role 120 times and went on to recreate the role in the national tour.

Phantom of the Opera, everybody loves the show, really difficult writing for the singers. The phantom cannot be sung by any human being that we know of because of the range yet people manage to do it. Carlota has to have a huge to pull that part off. And all three of these sopranos can do this, it’s the amazing, it’s going to be such a great concert.

So the idea of this concert is to bring three of Broadway’s great divas to the stage with the Omaha Symphony and to provide you with a performance that is going to be absolutely enchanting, romantic, dramatic, funny, it’s going to be a great night. I’m looking forward to seeing you there.

3 Words: It is done

Matt and I have held the fort down for what was a relatively quite day. A few customers stopped by to say "hi". I had a great conversation with a family who was visiting town to see their relatives. I got to practice my Japanese with the Grandpa he told me stories from his Navy days at various ports in South East Asia. Both of his grandchildren were excited as we showed them some of the entry level violins.

We got a lot done from the last week. Matt has become our residential carpenter as he's fixed up the workshop and made things run a little smoother downstairs. Our brand new cello rack was made by him. Much safer than having the cellos hanging from a pip

Meanwhile, Maddy stopped by on Saturday to do some more work time at the bench. She's gotten a lot better at taking tops off.

The Chiara String Quartet is on tour in Nebraska starting April 21 to April 24. They will play at various local communities as part of the Lied Center's Arts Across Nebraska Initiative Chiara String Quartet have been the Artists-in-Residence at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln's School of Music. Their duties include teaching and coaching students in the area of chamber music, along with their continued performance schedule.

You can get an early glimpse of them this week they first visit the Omaha Conservatory of Music for a Master Class, Rehearsal, and a Q&A. For different setting, check them out later that evening at Mick's Music Bar in downtown Benson. The event costs $8.00 but is worth it for to see them in a more intimate atmosphere.

April 12 Omaha Conservatory | 9:00 AM - 11:15 AM | Omaha, NE
April 12 Mick's Music Bar | 9:00 PM | Omaha, NE
April 21 St. Luke's United Methodist Church | 7:00 PM. David City, NE
April 22 The Tassel Theater | 7:30 PM | Holdrege, NE
April 23 Lied Center for Performing Arts | 7:00 PM | Lincoln NE
April 24 Midland Lutheran College St. Pat's Catholic Church | 7:30 Fremont NE
April 25 Hasting College-Hayes M. Fuhr Hall of Music | Hastings NE
April 27 The Organ Vesper Series | 3:00 PM Omaha NE

Last week, I took a break from the shop routine and went off to visit University of Michigan. No plans to pickup the old fiddle in graduate school but looking for potential architecture programs. The Detroit airport greeted me with rain and the shuttle to Ann Arbor dropped me off to a campus anticipating snow. I had a great time visiting the campus and talking with fellow prospectives. It's at the top of the list right now but a bit of a conundrum when I head that I was accepted at American University as well. Architecture or Film? Can't there be a way to combine the two?


Meanwhile, Matt had managed to put back together the rest of the table that we struggled to drag into the shop. A must have for Alex who became quickly desk-less as each computer became occupied by Laura, Clara, Matt or Me- a musical chair of sorts we've had to play. The used to operate on 2 main computers and another as the third wheel. That quickly changed as we're looking to add a 5th for Alex's personal desk. Looks like another networking project is on the horizon.

Gregg Regan, the sales rep from JR Music, came by the same day I had left for Ann Arbor. For the few days he was here, he got to observe the retail end of how the shop operates. Although there were a few slow days, he got to see some action on Saturday. The Italian Scrollavezza Violin sold and with it a Roger Zabinski bow. Mad props for Gregg venturing out all the way from Rhode island and helping us out a bit.

Yesterday, a customer stopped by the shop with a box full of musical parts and repair items. You'll see them up on eBay but I had to post about the lion's head scrolls.
Intricately carved lion's head scroll and neck. It was likely to have been German work from the turn of the century. I'm not sure if the tongue was carved out entirely but if it was, then that's some real woodwork.
We'll see what it fetches for our consignor in the wild west of eBay.